download - IOA

the time, A. Brundage, concerning the idea of founding the Academy in the US.
Ketseas, however, although fully aware of these developments, continued to
pursue the original plan with unabated enthusiasm and interest.
At the IOC's Session in Rome, in May 1949, the proposal to create an International
Olympic Academy in Greece was unanimously approved ; the overall organization
and operation of this Academy would be entrusted to the Hellenic Olympic
Committee.
The relationship between Ketseas and Diem warmed up again during the London
Session and the two men resumed their joint efforts to carry through the difficult
task they had begun ten years before.
A number of organizational problems had to be overcome before the International
Olympic Academy could start its operation, such as the acquisition of the
necessary land, as well as the acceptance, by the other National Olympic Committees,
of the IOC's proposal concerning their participation through a small number
of representatives.
Let us now see how the late Professor Cleanthis Palaelogos, Honorary Vice-President
of the Academy described the first moments of the Academy's operation :
"The months of April and May of 1961 were very stressful months for all those
involved in the preparation of the Olympic Academy... Until the end of May
consultations were continuing and we were highly concerned about how and
where we would organize the camp which was supposed to host more than 250
young men and women from all over the world. Thank God, the last visit was decisive".
The inauguration of the Academy was finally scheduled for the summer of
1961, to coincide with the ceremony during which the ancient stadium of Olympia,
excavated at the expense of the German Archaeological Society, would be delivered
to the Greek government. This marked the beginning of the International
Olympic Academy's valuable work, which represents a major contribution by
Greece to the Olympic Movement.
During that same year, a Museum of the Modern Olympic Games was also established
in Olympia. George Papastefanou, a philatelist, was the first who believed
in the idea of disseminating the Olympic idea and education through a Museum.
For that purpose, he bought an old school building in Olympia where he
organized the first modern Olympic Museum. He donated his collection and the
building to the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
Although John Ketseas and Carl Diem were the pioneers of the IOA's creation,
we must particularly refer to the man who had been marking for many years the
course of the works of the IOA, the Dean Dr Otto Szymiczek (1962-1990).
He should be considered as the foster-father of the IOA who decively contributed
to its evelution, its establishment and obtaining of world prestige.
Up to 1969 the IOA's activities involved one annual session. Since then, however,
there has been a steady increase in its activities. This year, it will host 32
events with the participation of approximately 3,000 people.
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